Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means

Abstract

How is the human brain like the AIDS epidemic? Ask physicist Albert-László
Barabási and he'll explain them both in terms of networks of individual nodes
connected via complex but understandable relationships. \_Linked: The New
Science of Networks\_ is his bright, accessible guide to the fundamentals
underlying neurology, epidemiology, Internet traffic, and many other fields
united by complexity.
Barabási's gift for concrete, nonmathematical explanations and penchant for
eccentric humor would make the book thoroughly enjoyable even if the content
weren't engaging. But the results of Barabási's research into the behavior of
networks are deeply compelling. Not all networks are created equal, he says,
and he shows how even fairly robust systems like the Internet could be
crippled by taking out a few super-connected nodes, or hubs. His mathematical
descriptions of this behavior are helping doctors, programmers, and security
professionals design systems better suited to their needs. \_Linked\_ presents
the next step in complexity theory--from understanding chaos to practical
applications. \_--Rob Lightner\_